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How Cleaning Products Are Messing With Your Mental Health

Interview with Marilee Nelson from Branch Basics

When it comes to our mental and physical health, we often focus on what we should eat, how much we should exercise, and how much we should meditate –  and forget to take a good look at where we spend most of our time: our homes.

Be Kind To Yourself - Nasty Chemicals In Many Cleaning Products Are Worse Than You Think.

In this week’s blog and podcast, I speak with Marilee Nelson, founder of Branch Basicsabout how the hidden toxins in our home can affect our mental and physical wellbeing, how to keep our living spaces free of toxic chemicals and products, how to protect our brains and bodies outside of the home and more!

As Marilee points out, products with harmful chemicals like pesticides and artificial fragrances in our homes can harm our health. Even small amounts can affect us, including many of the ingredients in supposedly non-toxic products! There is little regulation regarding cleaning supplies, and many do not even have a full ingredient list. We do not even understand how many of these chemicals affect our health over the short and long term (Marilee describes the impact of these chemicals in detail on the Branch Basics YouTube channel, if you are interested in learning more).   …

By Dr. Caroline Leaf And Dr. Henry Cloud
Neuroscientist And Psychologist

It's Alright To Say "NO..."
You Don't Have To Do Everything.

We all know that community is important for mental health, but what happens when people demand too much from us? How do we know when and how to say no before we feel drained and burnout? 

As I discuss in this week’s podcast with Dr. Henry Cloud, acclaimed leadership expert, bestselling author and psychologist, boundaries are as important as community when it comes to our mental health. It is not selfish to say no or give ourselves a break. 

We all need space, or what Dr. Cloud calls “property lines”, in our relationships. These lines set healthy limits in a friendship, and make sure people don’t throw their “trash” into your yard (figuratively speaking) or try control what you do and how you live. These are not walls: they are permeable. Ideally, we open our boundaries to let in good relationships, but we close them to keep out to threats and danger.

But, you may ask, what can you do when you feel obligated to say “yes” all the time and let people in all the time?…

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I FOUND SOME GOOD FAMILY RELATED MATERIAL ON THE VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT WEBSITE THAT'S REALLY GREAT. I'VE BEEN RESEARCHING NATURE A LOT - OUR NEED FOR REGULAR EXPOSURE TO IT SOME WAY/WAYS THROUGH THE WEEK.

Children Love To Learn How To Grow Plants - Why Not Let Them Try? You May Be Surprised!

IN MY PRETEENS, I WAS FASCINATED BY PEAS AND BEANS EMMERGING THROUGH THE SOIL, WHEN MY MUM WAS TENDING HER VEGGIE GARDEN AND WOULD HAVE LOVED TO HAVE A FEW PLANTS OF MY OWN TO GROW. MY FEELINGS ABOUT THIS WERE NOT VOICED UNTIL I MENTIONED IT TO HER LATER IN LIFE (MY 40'S OR 50'S).

IN RESPONSE, SHE SAID "Oh Janet, you never said anything about it. I would have been happy to share some with you - I didn't think you were interested." I WAS ACTUALLY INTRIGUED. IT'S A GREAT INTEREST FOR KIDS OF DIFFERENT AGES, FROM LITTLE TO TEENS and A GOOD CONTRAST TO THEIR TECH INTERESTS - HELPING TO PROVIDE A BALANCE FOR THEM, HEY? AND HEALTH BENEFITS TO BE GAINED TOO, A WIN WIN!

The Government Says:

People of all ages can enjoy gardening, but children in particular will have lots of fun and gain special benefits. …

By Uzma Muneer, D.O.

I WAS BROUGHT UP IN A COUNTRY TOWNSHIP NOT FAR FROM THE BEACH AND PLAYED OUTSIDE A LOT. MANY KIDS ARE BROUGHT UP HAVING CLOSE CONTACT WITH THE SOIL BECAUSE THEIR FAMILY HAS A VEGGIE GARDEN OR THEY LIVE ON A FARM. HEALTH SCIENTISTS ARE SAYING THIS GIVES CHILDREN A GOOD HEALTHY START IN LIFE AND BENEFITS THEIR IMMUNE SYSTEM. THEY’RE ALSO SAYING THAT KEEPING YOUR CHILDREN AND HOUSE SO CLEAN AND OVERUSE OF DISINFECTANTS IS NOT GOOD FOR THEIR HEALTH.

Are You Overly Careful How Your Kids Play?

Some Thoughtful Considerations.

Dr. Muneer specializes in Pediatrics, lets see what she has to say.

Picture this: A baby’s pacifier falls to the ground. A first-time mom sterilizes it thoroughly before giving it back. With her second baby, she quickly runs it under some water first. By her third child, the mom brushes it off and pops it right back into her baby’s mouth. Was her third child any worse for the wear?

We spend a lot of time and energy protecting our babies and kids from germs. But some germs could actually help protect them.

Our health is influenced by all the microorganisms inside our bodies and the surrounding environment.…

By Joshua Becker

A MEANINGFUL AND INTERESTING SET OF PRINCIPLES THAT ARE KEPT IN PRACTICE AND ENCOURAGED BY A DAD WHO RUNS A WEBSITE CALLED BecomingMinimalist.Com THAT IS WORTH CONSIDERING. HE HAS SOME SPECIAL INSIGHTS I FEEL. IN A WORLD THAT IS SO FOCUSED ON MONEY AND MATERIAL POSESSIONS ETC MAYBE WE NEED TO REMEMBER OR BECOME AWARE OF THESE THINGS. BESIDES, SOME PEOPLE FEEL LIKE THEY DON'T HAVE MUCH TO OFFER THEIR KIDS, AND MAYBE THEY COULD FEEL A LITTLE RICH IF THEY'RE LIVING WITH SOME OF THESE PRINCIPLES IN THEIR HOME OR THAT THEY CAN BE. THERE ARE SOME GOOD OLD-FASHIONED THINGS HERE IN THIS POST THAT WERE PRACTICED BY GRANDPARENTS AND GREAT GRANDPARENTS OF YESTERYEAR THAT MAKES FOR HAPPY CHILDREN AND MAKES A HOUSE A HOME AND MOST OF US COULD BENEFIT FROM SOME OF THEM.

Healthy Parental Blessings Money Cannot Buy - Consider These

“If you haven’t time to respond to a tug at your pants leg, your schedule is too crowded.” – Robert Brault

Whether you have money in your bank account or not, you have something they need:

  1. Love. More important than anything else, children need your love. 

By Divina Ramirez

Some hand sanitizers made to meet the surge in demand amid the coronavirus pandemic contain high levels of a cancer-causing chemical known as benzene, according to a study conducted by the online pharmacy, Valisure.

Valisure analyzed 260 bottles of hand sanitizer across 168 brands in its laboratory in New Haven, Connecticut. The analysis showed that 44 bottles had detectable levels of benzene, while 21 bottles contained levels of benzene above the approved limit of two parts per million (ppm).

Valisure also detected “unacceptably high levels” of methanol and acetaldehyde. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies acetaldehyde as a Group 2B carcinogen, meaning it is possibly carcinogenic to humans. Methanol is a highly toxic alcohol that can cause death if ingested.

On March 24, the pharmacy filed a citizen petition with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) asking the agency to recall the products identified in the analysis. Valisure also asked the FDA to conduct its own analysis of hand sanitizers and to develop documents defining the limit of benzene for all hand sanitizers.

Valisure’s analysis was verified by the Chemical and Biophysical Instrumentation Center at Yale University and Boston Analytics.…

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By Ethan Huff - Health Reporter

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) published a paper recently that exposes a common food preservative for damaging the immune system.

Tertiary butylhydroquinone, or TBHQ, is added to more than 1,250 food products, many of them marketed for children. The latest data shows that it suppresses immunity, which is especially concerning during a global “pandemic.”
Grandparents may like to make these for Grandkids with "busy parents"

Try Safer Treats For Kids - They're Only Young Once! Clean Food Crush Website HERE

Published on March 24 in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, the study used data from the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Toxicity Forecaster, also known as ToxCast.

Based on this data, EWG concluded that TBHQ damages immunity both in humans and animals.

“The pandemic has focused public and scientific attention on environmental factors that can impact the immune system,” says Olga Naidenko, PhD, EWG’s vice president for science investigations and lead author of the paper.

“Before the pandemic, chemicals that may harm the immune system’s defense against infection or cancer did not receive sufficient attention from public health agencies. To protect public health, this must change.”

As it turns out, TBHQ has been used in processed foods for decades.…

I'VE PLACED AN ARTICLE IN MY BLOG ABOUT THE MICROBIOME WE HAVE IN OUR BODY THAT RELATES VERY CLOSELY TO GUT HEALTH RECENTLY, AND THIS IS SOMETHING ALTOGETHER DIFFERENT YOU WOULD NEVER GUESS. DID YOU KNOW THAT HAVING A HEALTHY GUT HELPS YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM AND OVERALL HEALTH? YOU ARE ABOUT TO SEE A MISSING PART TO THE HEALTH PUZZLE FOR MANY - EVEN SOME PEOPLE WHO GO TO GYMS AND TAKE SUPPLEMENTS - SOMETHING THAT IS VERY UNDERATED BY MOST PEOPLE AND EASILY MISSED. IT STRENGTHENS YOUR GUT AND IT'S GREAT FOR YOUR HEALTH...... IT'S ALSO FREE...... CAN YOU GUESS NOW?

The One Thing You Should Do For A Healthier Gut

By Dr. Mahmoud Ghannoum – CleanPlates.Com

Stopping to admire a bed of flowers, strolling alongside a river, or sitting on a park bench — chances are, at least one of those scenarios, if not all of them, sounds peaceful and uplifting to you. But time spent in nature benefits more than just your spirits: It can lower stress levelsboost your immune systemimprove your heart health, alleviate depression and anxiety, and lead to a healthier gut.…

Author Florence Williams talks trees, cities, and creativity in her new book "The Nature Fix."

You Spend 5 Percent Of Your Day Outside. Try Making It More. At a time when more than half of all people live in cities, the influence of the natural world is at a low ebb, while our understanding of it keeps growing.

Try Spending Some Time Outdoors - It Lifts Your Mood Level

For two decades, Florence Williams could sit on her porch at night and watch the alpenglow on the Rocky Mountains. Then she moved from remote Colorado to Washington, DC, and started noticing the changes.

“I felt disoriented, overwhelmed, depressed,” she writes in her recent book, The Nature Fix. “My mind had trouble focusing. I couldn’t finish thoughts … and I wasn’t keen to get out of bed.”

Williams was suffering, she says, from nature withdrawal. She spent the next three years digging into the science of how nature works on our brain. In short, it makes us more relaxed, more creative, and more socially connected. She traveled to Japan and Finland, the deserts of Utah and the urban forests of Singapore, to study just how much we stand to gain by bring nature back into our lives.…

THIS POST WILL ADDRESS PLASTIC FOOD CONTAINERS AND OTHER PLASTICS, STYROFOAM/POLYSTYRENE, BPA BISPHENOLS AND SIMILAR. I KNOW THE CONCERNS AND ALERTS ABOUT OUR EXPOSURE TO CHEMICALS ETC GETS A BIT MUCH, TO THE POINT WHERE IT IS SOMEWHAT TAXING OR EVEN EXHAUSTING TO HAVE TO DEAL WITH IT ALL, YET WE NEED TO BE KIND TO OURELVES AND FAMILY. WITH THE WORLD BEING LIKE IT IS, IGNORANCE IS NOT BLISS. WE CAN ONLY BE THANKFUL THERE ARE STILL GOOD MEN AND WOMEN WHO ARE BEACONS OF TRUTH AND TIRELESS IN THEIR EFFORTS TO REACH US WITH THE VITAL KNOWLEGE WE NEED. SOME OF THESE PEOPLE ARE FLAWLESS IN THEIR JUDGEMENTS AND THEIR INTEGRITY IS IMPECKABLE. WE NEED TO HEAR FROM DEDICATED SCIENTISTS AND RESEARCHERS WHO ARE NOT BOUGHT OUT BY CERTAIN FOOD INDUSTRIES AND PLASTIC INDUSTRIES TO LIE FOR THEM. I HAVE BEEN AWARE OF THESE THINGS FOR MANY YEARS.

Are Plastic Containers Safe For Our food?

From TheGuardian.Com

The industry says its containers are safe but some experts point to a lack of data and warn that plastic and heat are not a good mix.

Many of us have an overflowing kitchen cupboard of plastic containers to store our leftovers.…